SLFR (Discontinued)
by Professor Writer
Summary: A rewrite of one of my favourite stories I have worked on. This is the tale of Storm, Lav, Forrest and Robin on their journey to become Huntsmen. What kinds of dramas, dangers and disasters lie ahead of them? Read to find out!
1. V1C1 - Red and Green

**Hey guys! It's been a while!**

**I'm very sorry for being inactive for several months, but I needed to take a break to take care of some business as well as clear my head of a whole bunch of negativity. But now, I have returned!**

**So, anyone who's read SLFR before will notice that this is a rewrite of the previous version, which has been deleted because I felt I could do better. So, I will be making a lot of changes to this story, especially to the characters. Some of you may like these changes and some of you may not, but I honestly prefer the changes I'm making. Though I don't believe the changes are **_**too**_ **major, so hopefully you can accept them.**

**But anyway, without further ado, let's get to the first chapter!**

* * *

"Dialogue"

'_Thoughts'_

* * *

"I can't believe they even _make_ weapons like these!" a certain, dark-haired girl stated to the boy next to her, amazement in her voice. "These are awesome!"

This girl was Ruby Rose, a fifteen-year-old girl from Vale. She had black hair with red tips and silver eyes. Her outfit consisted of a black long-sleeved blouse with red trim on the sleeves, a black waist cincher with red lacing on the front, a black skirt with red trim, a pair of black stockings and black combat boots with red laces, red trim around the top and red soles.

In a shop named From Dust Till Dawn, the girl was browsing through a weapons magazine, constantly admiring the weapons she came across. The boy next to her simply nodded his head and hummed in agreement as she gawked at the different items.

This boy was Forrest Xiao-Long, Ruby's brother. He had green hair and hazel eyes. His outfit was a dark green jacket, grey shirt, black pants and dark green sneakers. There was also a bracelet on his left wrist that was mostly silver except for a small part that was dark green and had the words "The Castleton Will Never Falters" written on it.

"We need to get going," Forrest said to Ruby.

"Aw, can't we stay a little longer? Just a few more minutes?" Ruby begged.

"No, we have to go now," Forrest replied. "Dad will probably freak out if we're not home soon."

Ruby pouted at him with sad, puppy eyes. Forrest frowned and closed his eyes, but when he opened them, Ruby was still making the same eyes at him. He tried looking away, but out of the corner of his eye, much to his dismay, he saw Ruby continue.

'_Must… resist…'_ Forrest desperately thought to himself. He hated those adorable eyes of hers!

"Okay, fine." he answered finally. "Since I'm feeling so generous, you can have five more minutes. But _no more_." He made sure to emphasise the last part.

Ruby ceased the puppy eyes and pounced on her brother, wrapping him in a giant hug.

"Ohhh, thank you, thank you, thank you!" she exclaimed. "You're the best brother ever!"

Forrest gently pushed her off of him.

"I know, now hurry up. Your five minutes starts now, so be ready to leave soon." Forrest ordered.

Ruby smiled and nodded, pulling out a pair of red headphones and putting them on. She turned and looks back at her magazine as she pressed the button on her headphones, playing the last song she listened to.

Forrest frowned at her, but eventually, his frown became a smile as he let out a small sigh.

"Do you have any idea how hard it is to find a Dust shop open this late?"

Hearing this made Forrest curious as to who had just entered the store. Rather than looking towards the entrance like most people would, he simply activated his Semblance. He sensed six people at the entrance. One of them was, of course, the shopkeeper. As Forrest focused, he sensed some ill intent coming from the five who had just entered.

'_This can't be good.'_ he thought.

After a few more seconds, he noticed one of the people approaching them. A man with a black hat and suit with a red tie and sunglasses prepared to load some dust into a canister. However, the man turned his head and saw Forrest and Ruby, with their backs turned towards them. He then drew a sword from a sheath on his belt.

"Alright kids, put your hands where I can see them." the man ordered.

Neither of the two children put their hands up, Ruby because she couldn't hear him and Forrest because he didn't care.

"Hey! I said hands in the air!" the man repeated.

Forrest nudged Ruby's shoulder with his elbow, prompting her to look at him. Once he had her attention, he gestured towards the man with his head. Ruby took down the hood and removed her headphones from her head as the two finally turned to look at the man.

"Yes?" Ruby asked.

"I said, put your hands in the air! Now!" he repeated again, clearly irritated.

Forrest raised an eyebrow, as did Ruby.

"Let me guess, you're robbing us?" Forrest inquired.

"Yes!" the man replied, very agitated at this point.

Ruby and Forrest looked at each other, before smirking at the man.

"Ohh." they replied in unison.

* * *

At the front of the store, three of the other men, dressed the same as the one who had just spoken to Ruby and Forrest, continued loading the dust into their canisters. While waiting for the men to finish their business, the fifth man, presumably the leader of this little group, leaned on the counter.

He had dark green eyes and orange hair with long bangs covering his right eye. Black eyeliner could be seen on his left eye. He sported a white coat over a black shirt, long black pants and brown shoes. His look was completed with a black bowler hat, a grey scarf and black gloves.

He barely gave a visible reaction when one of the men was sent flying into a shelf at the front of the store. One of the other grunts approached the man in the bowler hat, who gestured with his head to investigate. The grunt ran to the back of the store, pointing his gun at the two teenagers.

* * *

Launching the grunt's helpless body through the window, Ruby and Forrest leapt out, pulling out their weapons. As the other three grunts, one of which had just recovered from being thrown into the shelf, looked out the window, they saw Ruby holding a sniper rifle, which unfolded into a scythe, and Forrest holding a crossbow, which transforms into a spear. The two turned towards the criminals, Ruby spinning her scythe rapidly before stabbing the blade into the ground and Forrest spinning his spear before resting it on his shoulder. Ruby then clicked the button on her headphones, ending the song she was listening to prior to this incident.

"Okay…" the man in the bowler hat said, clearly not amused. He looked to his men before giving the order. "Get them."

As the man who was launched through the window recovered, he joined the other three men as they ran out of the store and charged towards the teenagers.

Ruby swung around on her scythe with one arm and kicked one of the men in the face. She then removed the blade from the ground before firing the weapon and using the recoil to give her scythe momentum in order to hit another henchman with the butt of the weapon, launching him into the air. One of the other men was about to fire his gun at Ruby, but as he pulled the trigger and the bullet flew out, Forrest jumped in front of Ruby and swung his spear, deflecting the bullet. The man continued firing, but as Forrest made his way towards him, he continued to spin his weapon, deflecting the shots. As he approached the man, he hit him the leg with with the handle of his spear, knocking him off balance. As the man started to fall, he hit him over the head with the same part, knocking him unconscious. As the last henchman attempted a sneak attack, Forrest stabbed the spear into the ground and spun on it, kicking the man in the face with enough force to send flying. The grunt landed in front of the ginger-haired man, unconscious.

"You were worth every cent. Truly you were." the man muttered sarcastically.

"Well, Red, Green, I think we can all say it's been an eventful evening," he said, pulling his cigar out of his mouth and throwing it on the ground before crushing it with his cane. "And as much as I'd like to stick around," he pointed his cane at the siblings, "I'm afraid this," the bottom of the cane opened up, revealing a scope, "is where we part ways."

A red blast fired out of the cane, heading straight towards the duo. Forrest jumped to the side and rolled while Ruby fired her weapon into the ground, launching her upwards and above the blast. The red shot hit the ground where the two were standing previously, exploding and sending rubble from the street everywhere. Ruby landed and Forrest stood up, dusting himself off. As Ruby looked around for the ginger-haired man, Forrest activated his Semblance. He immediately located the man.

"Up there!" he alerted Ruby while pointing.

Ruby followed where he was pointing and saw the man climbing a ladder on the side of a building. She turned to the shopkeeper.

"You okay if we go after him?" she asked him, earning a short "Uh-huh" in response. Ruby pointed her scythe at the ground and as Forrest held onto her, she fired a shot, the recoil launching them to the top of the building in no time. They saw the man running to the edge of the building.

"Hey!" she yelled out.

The man stopped running but didn't turn to look at them.

"Persistent…" he muttered.

The two siblings prepared to fight him before they heard a noise. Next to the building, a Bullhead pulled up, the hatch opening. As the man climbed inside, he turned to the duo.

"End of the line, kids!" he yelled, holding up a red Dust crystal.

He threw it at their feet and fired at it. The two kids braced themselves as the shot resulted in a large explosion. The man cheered, before noticing something on the roof. A "Huh?" escaped his mouth as he saw another person.

This person was a blond woman with green eyes behind ovular glasses. She was wearing a white shirt, a purple cape, a black skirt and black, knee-high boots with black stockings. In her hand was a riding crop.

However, the strange part was that in front of her was an odd, purple circle, which must've shielded her and the kids from the explosion. Ruby smiled at the idea of getting to see a pro-Huntress in action, while Forrest's expression remained neutral.

As the blond woman waved her riding crop, several purple streaks shot out, hitting the ship with significant force. After stumbling around in the back, the ginger-haired man made his way to the cockpit, where a brunette woman wearing a red dress struggled to keep the Bullhead steady.

"We got a Huntress!" he announced to the woman, who left him to control the ship while she dealt with the threat.

The blond woman fired a blast above the aircraft, similar in appearance to the one the man fired at Ruby and Forrest, except this one was purple instead of red. A dark cloud appeared above the aircraft and, as the woman flicked her riding crop downward, large, sharp crystals began raining out of the cloud. Most of them struck the ship, with one even plummeting through the windshield and narrowly missing the man's head.

Meanwhile, in the back of the Bullhead, the brunette woman made her way to the opening. Her arms and chest lit up as she fired a burst of energy at the blond woman, who blocked it with another magic circle. The flame splattered on the roof behind her and the brunette woman raised her hand. A bright orange circle appeared beneath the blond woman's feet and she backflipped as a pillar of fire exploded out of it, with pieces of the roof flying everywhere. The shards magically came together to form an arrow and, as the woman swung her riding crop, the arrow launched at the aircraft. The brunette woman fired several more bursts of energy at the arrow, which shattered, but then reformed, continuing on its trajectory. However, the ginger-haired man managed to turn the Bullhead, causing the arrow to strike the side of the aircraft and split apart. The large arrow then reshaped into several smaller arrows that flew towards the opening. The brunette woman responded by summoning multiple orange rings, which expanded. As they hit the shards forming the arrows, the shards were destroyed.

Ruby, finally taking action, converted her scythe into its rifle form and fired a few shots at the brunette woman. However, she responded by blocking them with her bare hands. Forrest stepped up as well, converting his spear into its crossbow form. He fired several bolts, which the woman responded to by shooting more bursts of energy at them, destroying them in midair. She then waved her arm and more orange circles appeared beneath the trio. After the blond woman waved her riding crop, Ruby and Forrest found themselves thrown clear of the resulting explosion, which the woman managed to frontflip away from. The blond woman looked up in time to see the hatch closing, realising the explosion was a diversion for the two criminals to make their escape. The Bullhead finally turned and flew off. As she watched the aircraft fly away from the building, Ruby and Forrest stood up. They turned to the blond woman who assisted them.

"You're a Huntress." Ruby pointed out, as the blond woman turned to her.

Ruby's face showed just how excited and awe-stricken she was, as she asked the Huntress, in perhaps the most fangirl-esque voice imaginable, "Can I have your autograph?", all the while Forrest covered his face with one hand, listening to his sister's antics.

* * *

Although this may surprise you, the two siblings were _not_ rewarded for their efforts against the two criminals. Instead, here they were in a dark room, with a single light hanging from the ceiling and a table in front of them.

"I hope you two realise that your actions tonight will _not_ be taken lightly." the blond woman sternly informed them, pacing through the room. "You put yourselves and others in great danger."

"They started it!" Ruby retorted. Forrest merely put a reassuring hand on her shoulder, as if to tell her to calm down.

"If it were up to me, you'd be sent home…" the blond woman finally stopped pacing in front of the door, "...with a pat on the back…" Ruby smiled at this, "...and a slap on the wrist!"

The woman smacked her riding crop on the table to emphasize her words, with Ruby letting out a startled yelp.

"But," the woman continued, "there is someone here who would like to meet you."

The woman moved away from the door and a grey-haired man with brown eyes behind dark glasses walked in. His outfit was a black suit over a dark green buttoned vest and shirt, dark green pants and black shoes. He was carrying a plate of cookies and a mug.

"Ruby Rose," he said in a calm voice. He leaned in to inspect Ruby. "You… have silver eyes."

"U- um…" Ruby muttered as she frowned in slight discomfort. Forrest also looked at him suspiciously, although his Semblance didn't detect any ill intent from the man.

"So!" the grey-haired man continued. "Where did you learn to do this?" He gestured with his head towards a tablet that the blond woman was holding, showing Ruby and Forrest fighting.

"S- Signal Academy," Ruby replied, smiling nervously.

"They taught you to wield one of the most dangerous weapons ever designed?" the man questioned.

"Well, one teacher in particular," she replied.

"I see." the man said.

He placed the plate of cookies on the table in front of Ruby and Forrest. Ruby took a cookie and ate it in one bite. Seeing no attempts to stop her, she devoured them one after another.

"It's just that I've only seen one other scythe wielder of that skill before." the man explained.

Ruby offered the last cookie to Forrest, who shook his head as he replied "No thanks."

"A dusty old crow…" the man continued. Ruby, about to eat the last cookie, perked up at this.

"Hmm, that's my uncle!" she _attempted_ to say, but due to all the cookies in her mouth, the words came out as a mess that was so incomprehensible, it couldn't even be considered gibberish. The man raised an eyebrow at this.

"Ruby, how many times do you have to be told?" Forrest irritatedly reminded Ruby. "Don't talk with your mouth full."

Ruby swallowed the last cookie before wiping her mouth on her sleeve.

"Sorry." she apologised before repeating her sentence. "That's my uncle, Qrow. He's a teacher at Signal. I was complete garbage before he took me under his wing. Now, I'm all like-"

She began making random 'martial arts' noises while showing off her 'martial arts' moves, most of which were just her swinging her arms randomly. She even ended up hitting Forrest right in the face by accident.

"Sorry!" she apologised quickly while Forrest gave her an unhappy glare.

"So I've noticed." the man said. He sets his cup of coffee on the table. "And what is an adorable girl such as yourself doing at a school designed to train warriors?"

"Well, I want to be a Huntress," Ruby answered, turning back to the grey-haired man.

"You want to slay monsters?" he questioned.

"Yeah!" Ruby began explaining. "I only have two more years of training left at Signal! And then I'm going to apply to Beacon!" She slowly began talking faster and faster as her enthusiasm grew. "You see, my sister's starting there this year, and she's trying to become a Huntress, and I'm trying to become a Huntress 'cause I wanna help people. My parents always taught us to help others, so I thought 'Hey, I might as well make a career out of it!' I mean the police are alright, but Huntsmen and Huntresses are just so much more romantic and exciting and cool and really, gosh, you know!"

Her rant ended with her flipping out, staring at the two adults with a crazy smile. Forrest was again covering his face with one his hands, exasperated from yet another of his sister's crazy rants.

After silence filled the room, the grey-haired man began to speak again.

"Do you know who I am?"

"You're Professor Ozpin." Ruby answered. "You're the headmaster at Beacon."

"Hello." Ozpin greeted, a faint smile on his face.

"Nice to meet you." Ruby returned.

"You want to come to my school?" he asked.

"More than anything," Ruby confirmed.

After Ozpin gave the woman a look, she turned her head away, humming her disapproval. Ozpin looked back at Ruby.

"Well, okay."

Ruby grinned in excitement at the news. She turned to her brother and squealed, hugging him.

"Yeah, yeah, congratulations and all that," Forrest said. "Now please get off me."

Despite saying this, he had a smile on his face. Ruby let go of him as he straightened himself up.

Ozpin then turned to look at said boy.

"And _you_, young man," Ozpin said, causing the boy in question to perk up. "I don't believe I know who _you_ are."

"Right," he remembered. "I'm her brother, Forrest Xiao-Long."

"I see. So where did _you_ learn to do what you did?"

"Same place as her," Forrest answered while gesturing to Ruby. "Signal Academy."

"And I suppose that you want to be a Huntsman?" Ozpin questioned.

"Yeah."

"And what is _your_ motivation?" Ozpin continued interrogating.

After a moment of silence, Forrest answered.

"Well, I want to be a Huntsman because it's the best way that I can help others. My father once told me, 'All it takes for evil to triumph is for good people to do nothing.'"

As Forrest said this, he subconsciously gripped the bracelet on his wrist.

"And ever since then, I decided I that I refuse to be the good person doing nothing. So here I am."

Ozpin looked down in thought, soon looking back at the green-haired boy.

"And I suppose you're planning to attend Beacon as well?" he inquired.

"That's right."

"How old are you?" Ozpin asked.

"Seventeen."

"Well…" Ozpin smiled at them, "It seems that we now have _two_ new students."

Forrest smiled.

"Thank you, Professor Ozpin," he said. "This means a lot to me."

"No need to thank me," Ozpin replied humbly. "Just be prepared to work hard. School starts in a few weeks."

The two siblings smiled at each other.

* * *

Aboard an airship, a girl tackled Ruby and Forrest into a hug, crushing the air out of them.

This girl was Yang Xiao-Long, Ruby and Forrest's sister.

She had lilac eyes and blond hair. She was wearing a brown jacket over a yellow shirt with a black fireball emblem on the left breast, black shorts, a brown belt and brown knee-high boots. Under her boots, she had orange socks, with the left one reaching up above her knee. She also had a purple bandanna right under her left knee, an orange scarf around her neck and black fingerless gloves on her hands.

Yang was seventeen, making her the same age as Forrest and two years older than Ruby.

"Oh, I can't believe my brother and sister are going to Beacon with me!" she exclaims. "This is the best day ever!"

"Please, stop…" Ruby begged, struggling to breathe.

"Yeah, seriously…" Forrest agreed.

"But I'm so proud of you!" Yang said, finally letting go.

"Really sis, it was nothing." Ruby modestly stated.

"What do you mean? It was incredible" Yang exclaimed. "Everyone at Beacon is gonna think you're the bee's knees!"

"I don't wanna be the bee's knees!" Ruby replied. "I don't wanna be any kind of knees! I just wanna be a normal girl with normal knees!"

"What's with you?" Yang asked. "Aren't you excited?"

"Of course I'm excited… I just…" Ruby answered before sighing. "I got moved ahead _two years_. I don't want people to think I'm special or anything.

Yang walked over and gave her a one armed hug, smiling warmly.

"But you _are_ special," she reassured her.

"Yeah, taking on a criminal isn't something that just anyone can do." Forrest agreed." That does take a lot of talent."

"Well, I mean, yeah, but you were helping me." Ruby reminded him.

"Maybe, but you played a big part." Forrest retorted.

Ruby was about to reply but was interrupted by a man's voice, coming from a broadcast on the screen near the window of the airship.

"The robbery was led by nefarious criminal, Roman Torchwick, who continues to evade authorities."

On the screen was a mugshot of the man Ruby and Forrest stopped robbing the Dust shop.

"If you have any information on his whereabouts, please contact the Vale Police Department. Back to you, Lisa."

The screen changed to a woman with light purple hair and yellow eyes. Underneath, a name was displayed; Lisa Lavender.

"Thank you, Cyril." she replied. "In other news, this Saturday's Faunus Civil Rights protest turned dark when members of the White Fang disrupted the ceremony. The once peaceful organisation has now disrupted-"

The screen shut off and a hologram appeared, displaying the woman who helped Ruby and Forrest fight Torchwick and the woman in red.

"Hello, and welcome to Beacon." she greeted.

"Who's that?" Yang asked.

"My name is Glynda Goodwitch." the woman replied, as if answering the question.

"Oh." Yang realised.

"You are among a privileged few who have received the honour of being selected to attend this prestigious academy. Our world is experiencing an incredible time of peace and as future Huntsmen and Huntresses, it is your duty to uphold it. You have demonstrated the courage needed for such a task and now it is our turn to provide you with the knowledge and the training to protect our world."

The hologram disappeared and Ruby gasped as she rushed over to the window, with Yang and Forrest following her. Several other students let out cries of surprise as well. The three siblings looked through the window, seeing their town, Beacon Academy and even Signal Academy. The three shared smiles at the view.

"This view is amazing!" Forrest excitedly exclaimed. "This is something I wouldn't trade for all the money in the world."

"Look!" Ruby pointed out. "You can see Signal from up here! I guess home isn't too far after all."

"Beacon's our home now." Yang reminded her.

The three heard a groan and look over, seeing a fellow passenger hunched over, holding his stomach and clamping a hand over his mouth. He rushed past them to the back of the airship.

"Well, I guess the view isn't for everyone…" Yang said.

"It was a nice moment while it lasted," Ruby replied.

"Yeah…" Forrest agreed.

"I wonder who we're gonna meet," Ruby said. "I just hope they're better than Vomit Boy."

Forrest glanced down at the floor and saw a spot on Yang's boot.

"Hey Yang, don't freak out, but you have puke on your shoe." he pointed out, causing her to yelp as she saw it.

"Gross! Gross! Gross! Gross! Gross! Gross! Gross! Gross!" Yang exclaimed as she started flicking her boot, trying to get it off.

"Hey! Don't flick it at me! Stop! Stop! Stop!"

Meanwhile, Ruby was holding her stomach since it was in pain from laughing so hard.

* * *

**Well, here we are! The end of the rewritten Chapter 1!**

**Now, you may have noticed that the biggest difference between this version of SLFR and the original is that in this version, Forrest can actually talk. Will this change much? Maybe, maybe not. We'll see.**

**Other than that, this chapter has remained the same for the most part, only dialogue changes (since Forrest can actually talk now). However, future chapters will be more different due to the changes I have in store for them.**

**Also, since the chapters have already been written, all I need to do is edit them to fit the new version of the story. This means that until we get to Volume 2, the time between each chapter will be a _lot_ shorter. I'm talking several days _at most_.**

**But anyway, thank you for reading and I hope that you're excited to read the next few chapters, because I'm excited to write them!**

**Be sure to leave your thoughts in a review, because I always love reading reviews and seeing what you guys think!**

**And as always, have a great day!**


	2. V1C2 - Welcome to Beacon

**Well, it's time for Chapter 2! But first, responding to reviews that I got for the first chapter!**

* * *

**Guest:** I'm glad you want more, because I'm giving you more!

**sparkydragon98:** Hey man! Don't worry, the wait between chapters will be pretty short up until Volume 2, so new story stuff will arrive somewhat soon!

The reason I decided to take away Forrest's mutism is that there were a lot of scenes in my head that I just couldn't see going well with him being unable to talk. I also made him seventeen like the other characters because I felt like there wasn't really a point in making him a year younger. We already have Ruby getting into Beacon early, so having Forrest get in early as well, just kinda felt a bit... repetitive, if that's the right word.

Funny how you mention Forrest being a _Huntress_, considering he's a guy, haha! But all joking aside, his reason for being a Huntsman was mentioned in the previous version, but in a different way than how it was mentioned here. Of course, there's Forrest explaining it himself, rather than having to rely on Ruby, but I also added a little... hint to an aspect of his character. Don't worry, it will be revealed in a future chapter!

Well, your wait is over! The next chapter is here!

* * *

"Dialogue"

'_Thoughts'_

* * *

As the airships were flying through the sky, they approached a cliff and pulled in to dock. The doors opened and the students all began making their way off the ship. A blond boy in armour ran to the nearest trash can and began emptying his stomach into it, letting out a groan afterwards. As the students reached the campus, Ruby, Yang and Forrest stared in awe, all of them letting out a "Woah".

"The view from Vale's got nothin' on this," Yang said.

"Agreed," Forrest replied.

As Ruby was about to state her agreement, she looked around and noticed the weapons others were carrying. Forrest spotted this out of the corner of his eye and facepalmed, knowing Ruby was about to go into 'Weapon Fangirl Mode'.

"Ooh! Ooooh! Look! That kid's got a collapsible staff!" She let out a gasp. "And _she's_ got a fire sword!"

Ruby attempted to wander off in search of even more weapons, but Yang dragged her back by her hood.

"Ow, oww," Ruby yelped.

"Easy there, little sister," Yang said. "They're just weapons."

"_Just_ weapons?" Ruby replied, practically shocked that Yang could say such a thing. "They're an extension of ourselves! They're a part of us! Oh, they're so cool!"

"Well, why not drool over your own weapon, then?" Forrest asked. "Aren't you satisfied with it?"

Ruby then unfolded her weapon into its scythe form and cuddled it.

"Of course I'm happy with Crescent Rose!" Ruby answered. "I just really like seeing new ones. It's like meeting new people, but better."

"Ruby, come on," Yang said, pulling Ruby's hood over her face. "Why don't you go try and make some friends of your own?"

"But why would I need friends when I have you two?" Ruby asked, pulling her hood back to its proper place.

"Well…" Yang started to answer when a group of people appeared behind her. "Actually, my friends are here. Gotta go catch up. 'Kay, see ya, bye!"

Yang and her friends started dashing down the path, leaving Ruby spinning in circles.

"Wait, where are you going?" Ruby asked, left dizzy from the spinning. "Are we supposed to go to our dorms? Where _are _our dorms? Do we have dorms? I don't know what I'm doing…"

She fell over, landing on a bunch of briefcases, sending some flying.

"Ruby, you okay?" Forrest asked, holding his hand out to his sister.

"Yeah, thanks," she answered as she took his hand, allowing him to pull her to her feet.

"What are you doing?!" a female voice yelled.

The two siblings looked to see a new person. She had light blue eyes and white hair in a ponytail, as well as a scar running down her left eye. Her choice of clothing was a white thigh-length dress under a similarly coloured bolero with red lining and white boots with wedged heels.

'_Uh oh,'_ Forrest thought as he noticed her glaring directly at his sister.

"Uh, sorry!" Ruby replied, sitting up.

"Sorry?!" the white-haired girl yelled, slightly more agitated. "Do you have any idea of the damage you could have caused?"

"Uh..." Ruby uttered, picking up one of the cases.

"Give me that!" Weiss ordered, snatching the case away. She opened it up, revealing several vials. "This is Dust, mined and purified from the Schnee Quarry!"

"Uh…" Ruby uttered again.

"What are you, brain-dead?" Weiss asked, pulling out a vial of red Dust and closing the case. "Dust! Fire! Water! Lightning! Energy!"

As she waved the vial around, some of the Dust began leaking out. Ruby, breathing in the Dust, began to groan as she felt a sneeze coming on.

"Are you even listening to me?" Weiss demanded. "Is any of this sinking in? What do you have to say for yourself?!"

Forrest, knowing exactly what was coming, took a few steps back. He watched as Ruby let out a sneeze, setting off the Dust in the air and creating an explosion of fire, ice and lightning that encompassed the white-haired girl. The vial was sent flying and hit the ground, rolling towards a girl reading a book.

This girl had long black hair and amber eyes, with purple eyeshadow. She was wearing a black buttoned vest over a white, sleeveless crop undershirt, white shorts with a zipper on the front of each leg, black low-heeled boots with purple stockings, black ribbons wrapped around both of her forearms and a black bow on the top of her head.

She bent down and picked up the vial, inspecting it.

"Unbelievable!" the white-haired girl shrieked. "This is exactly the kind of thing I was talking about!"

'_Even though it was _your _fault for not putting the lid on properly and letting it leak out,'_ Forrest thought bitterly.

He wanted to give this girl a piece of his mind, but decided against it, thinking that it would be better if Ruby solved this conflict herself. Hopefully, this would allow her to grow as a person.

"I'm really, _really_ sorry!" Ruby apologised, tapping the tips of her index fingers together.

"Ugh! You complete _dolt_!" Weiss screamed. "What are you even doing here? Aren't you a little _young_ to be attending Beacon?"

"Well, I-I…" Ruby stammered.

"This isn't your ordinary combat school." Weiss reminded. "It's not just sparring and practice, you know. We're here to fight monsters, so, watch where you're going!"

"Hey, I said I was sorry, _princess_!" Ruby retorted.

"It's heiress, actually," a new voice corrected Ruby.

Ruby, Forrest and the white-haired girl looked over to see the girl with black hair approaching with the vial.

"Weiss Schnee," the girl started, "heiress to the Schnee Dust Company, one of the largest producers of energy propellant in the world…"

"Finally! Some recognition!" the white-haired girl, now known as Weiss, responded, a smug smile on her face.

However, the black-haired girl wasn't done.

"...the same company infamous for its controversial labour forces and questionable business partners."

"Wha- how dare- the nerve of-" Weiss struggled to reply as Ruby and Forrest snickered in the background.

Weiss approached the girl and took the vial from her, storming off. A group of servants appeared, gathering her luggage and following her.

"I promise I'll make this up to you!" Ruby apologised again before sighing. "I guess I'm not the only one having a rough first day… So, what's…" Ruby attempted to learn the black-haired girl's name, only to see she was already walking off. She fell to the ground, laying on her back, feeling blue. "Welcome to Beacon…"

It was then that a boy approached Ruby. He had dark blue eyes and short, messy blond hair, with the right side nearly reaching his right eye and the left side swept back. He had armour, consisting of diamond-shaped chestplate cut off above his lower torso and white spaulders with rerebraces set under them. Underneath the armour, he was wearing a black short-sleeved hoodie with detached reddish-orange sleeves, blue jeans with a white patch on the left knee, as well as black sneakers, brown wrist-length gloves with exposed fingertips and a sheath strapped to his left hip.

Forrest watched as the blond boy offered Ruby a hand to help her up.

"Hey," the boy greeted, "I'm Jaune."

"Ruby," she replied, taking his hand and standing up. She then scoffed. "Aren't you the guy that threw up on the ship?"

As Jaune blushed from embarrassment, Forrest smiled at the scene, happy that his little sister was finally making a friend of her own, just as Yang suggested.

* * *

'_Honestly, I can't believe that just happened!'_ a certain heiress annoyedly thought, still storming off.

Weiss had all but lost her patience after the little scene with Ruby, which was understandable. After all, she _did_ get blown up. With her irritation distracting her, she ended up bumping into a boy, both of them falling over.

"Oh, what now?" she muttered under her breath.

After a moment, she looked up to see the boy, offering her a hand.

"My apologies, miss," he said. "I wasn't watching where I was going. I accept responsibility for this."

Weiss, upon witnessing an act of chivalry and honesty, finally started to feel less irritated. She accepted the boy's hand, standing up and getting a closer look at him.

He had dark grey hair and black eyes. His fashion choice was quite fancy, being a black blazer over a black suit and tie with a white dress shirt, black pants and dress shoes. However, what stood out was the pair of grey wolf ears on top of the boy's head, indicating he wasn't a human, but rather, a Faunus. As Weiss noticed these wolf ears, something nearly clicked in her mind.

'_This boy looks familiar…'_ her subconscious realised.

"Thank you," Weiss replied. "And I take some responsibility for that as well. It's just my first few minutes here have been rough and I was so annoyed that I wasn't paying attention. I'm sorry."

"Don't worry," the boy said, bowing before her. "I'm not upset. I'm simply glad that you're unharmed."

Weiss couldn't help but stare.

'_The manner of speaking… the gestures…'_ her brain was currently in overdrive, '_where have I seen this behaviour before?'_

"Excuse me, miss?" the boy snapped Weiss out of her daze. "Are you okay?" He had a look of concern on his face.

"Oh, uh, yes!" Weiss replied with a smile. "I'm fine, thank you for asking."

The boy nodded his head, his own smile returning. He then began to speak again and his next words surprised Weiss.

"My name is Storm. Storm McCloud."

At first, Weiss stood there, speechless, as the gears in her brain continued turning. However, after a good few seconds of awkward silence between the two, the revelation finally presented itself to her.

"Storm?!" Weiss loudly echoed.

"Indeed, that _is_ what I stated my name to be," the boy, known as Storm, confirmed, taken aback by Weiss' new behaviour.

She then closely inspected him, taking note of everything, from his wolf ears to his face, to his choice of fashion. Her face then displayed a wide grin. Before Storm could speak again, Weiss rushed forward and hugged him tightly.

"Oh, Storm!" she yelled. "It's you! I can't believe it! It's _really_ you!"

"Er, yes," Storm uttered, hugging her back gently. "It really is me. I really am Storm. Is that a problem?"

Weiss let go of him and steps back.

"Of course not!" Weiss said, shaking her head. "How've you been?"

Storm blinked, not knowing how to respond in this situation.

"I've been quite well, thank you very much," he replied. "And how about yourself?"

"I've been great, too!" Weiss exclaimed.

"That's very good to hear," he replied. "But I've noticed that you're speaking to me as if we've met before."

"Well of course!" Weiss said. "We _have_ met before!"

"Oh. We have?" Storm asked.

"Yes!" Weiss answered. "Don't you recognise me?"

"My apologies, but I'm afraid I don't." Storm stated, shaking his head.

"Weiss Schnee!" she reminded him. "We used to play together all the time when we were little!"

"Weiss… Schnee…?" Storm replied, recalling that name somewhere.

He stared into her eyes as he searched through his memories. His jaw then nearly hit the floor as his head was suddenly filled with hundreds of thoughts. Weiss noticed that his eyes were suddenly a lot shinier than they were before. Were they filled with… tears?

Before Weiss could ask if he was okay, he began comically crying and hugged Weiss in the same fashion she did moments ago.

"Weiss! My old friend!" Storm exclaimed. "My apologies for not recognising you sooner! I can't believe I forgot my old friend!"

"I-it's fine!" Weiss reassured. "I'm just glad you recognise me now!"

Storm pulled away from the hug, wiping the tears from his eyes and regaining his composure.

"My oh my," Storm remarked, "the years have certainly flown by, haven't they?"

"Yeah, it feels like just yesterday we were playing together," Weiss agreed.

"Well, I'm glad to see your face again after so long," Storm stated. "We certainly have much to catch up on."

Weiss nodded in agreement. The two childhood friends, newly reunited, started chatting away as they made their way to the amphitheatre. They were both happy.

"So… what do you get up to these days?" Storm asked, sparking a new conversation with her.

* * *

Meanwhile, in another area of the school grounds, Ruby, Forrest and their new friend, Jaune, were walking down a path, not going anywhere in particular. Currently, Jaune was rambling about his… condition.

"All I'm saying is that motion sickness is a much more common problem than people let on!" Jaune defended.

"Look, I'm sorry," Ruby apologised. "Vomit Boy was the first thing that came to mind."

"Oh yeah? Well, what if I called you _Crater Face_?" Jaune shot back.

"Hey, that explosion was an accident!" Ruby defended as Forrest chuckled.

"Well, the name's Jaune Arc." Jaune fully introduced himself, full of confidence. "Short, sweet, rolls off the tongue, ladies love it."

"Do they?" Ruby asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Th- they will!" Jaune replied. "Well I- I hope they will. I mean, my mum always that… eh, never mind."

Ruby chuckled at this.

"_Real_ smooth," Forrest remarked sarcastically. "Remind me to ask him for dating tips later."

"Ha-ha, very funny," Jaune replied with equal sarcasm.

"Oh, I just remembered, I never introduced myself to you," Forrest realised. "I'm Forrest, Ruby's brother."

"Wait, brother?" Jaune asked. "But you two look nothing alike."

"_Adopted_ brother," Forrest elaborated. "It's a long story."

"Oh, right, got it," Jaune said before holding out his hand. "Well, nice to meet you."

"Likewise," Forrest responded before shaking Jaune's hand.

As they continued walking, Ruby tried to think of a way to continue the conversation.

"Soo…" she started, "I've got this thing."

She pulled out her weapon, which immediately converted to its scythe form.

"Woah!" Jaune exclaimed. "Is that a scythe?" he asked in a nervous tone.

"It's also a customisable, high-impact sniper rifle," she said, holding it up.

"A… what?" Jaune asked, confused.

"It's also a gun," Forrest simplified.

"Oh," Jaune uttered in realisation. "That's cool!"

"Thanks!" she replied.

"Don't forget about me!" Forrest reminded, pulling out his crossbow. He pointed it away from Jaune and Ruby so as to not hurt them with his next action. The crossbow extended and a blade stuck out the front, forming a spear.

"Woah!" Jaune exclaimed. "Those weapons are awesome!"

Forrest grinned sheepishly, muttering a "Thanks".

"So what have you got?" Ruby asked Jaune.

"Oh, uh..." Jaune reluctantly pulled out his weapon… a sword. "I… I got this sword."

"Ooh," Ruby replied.

"Yeah, I got a shield, too," Jaune added, pulling the sheath off his waist as it extends outwards into a shield.

"So what do they do?" Ruby asked.

As she reached towards the shield, she accidentally touched a button that caused it to turn back into a sheath. It bounced all over the place, switching between sheath and shield repeatedly. Jaune fumbled around with it, trying to catch it. It fell to the ground and he picked it up, folding it back into its sheath form and re-attaching it to his waist.

"The- the shield gets smaller," he explained, "so when I get tired of carrying it, I can just… put it away."

"But…" Ruby asked, "wouldn't it weigh the same?"

"Yeah, it does," Jaune replied as he slumped over as if defeated.

"Well, hehe, I'm kind of a dork when it comes to weapons," Ruby admitted.

"You say that like it isn't obvious," Forrest joked.

Ruby pouted in response.

"_Anyway_, I guess I did go a little overboard in designing it," she continued.

"Wait, you _made_ that?" Jaune asked, amazed.

"Yep, I made mine too," Forrest answered. "It's a requirement at Signal Academy for the students to create their own weapons. What about you?"

"It's a hand-me-down," Jaune admitted. "My great-great grandfather used it to fight in the war."

"Sounds more like a family heirloom to me," Ruby stated. "Well I like it. Not many people have an appreciation for the classics these days."

"Yeah…" Jaune half-heartedly agreed. "The classics…"

As the three continued walking, Ruby thought of a question to ask.

"So why'd you help out back there, in the courtyard?"

"Eh, why not?" Jaune answered. "My mum always says, 'Strangers are just friends you haven't met yet.'"

"Your mum seems like a wise person," Forrest replied.

"Oh yeah, she is," he agreed.

The three continued until Ruby realised something.

"Hey, where are we going?"

"Oh, I dunno," Jaune answered. "I was just following you."

The three looked around, trying to gain an idea as to where they were.

"Y-you think there might be a directory?" Jaune suggested. "Maybe a food court?"

Ruby chuckled in response.

"Some sort of recognisable landmark?"

Ruby snorted.

"Is uh, is that no?"

"Hehe, that's a no," Ruby answered.

"You don't say," Forrest remarked.

* * *

As Ruby, Forrest and Jaune finally found the place they needed to be, they made their way there immediately. As they entered the amphitheatre, they saw a large crowd gathered around the stage.

"Ruby! Forrest! Over here!" Ruby and Forrest heard. They looked over and saw Yang, waving to them. "I saved you two spots!"

"Oh! Hey, we gotta go!" Ruby said to Jaune, grabbing Forrest's arm and dragging him along.

"Ow, not so rough!" Forrest complained.

"We'll see you after the ceremony!" Ruby called to Jaune.

"Hey wait!" Jaune yelled after them, although his efforts were in vain as Ruby and Forrest disappeared into the crowd. "Ah, great. Where am I supposed to find another nice person to talk to?"

He began walking into the crowd, unaware that a red-haired girl was watching him.

"How's your first day going, little sister and brother?" Yang asked.

"You mean since you _ditched _us and I _exploded_?" Ruby spat.

"Yikes, meltdown already?" Yang misunderstood.

"Guess again" Forrest replied with a blank expression on his face.

"No, I _literally_ exploded a hole in front of the school!" Ruby elaborated. "And there was some fire. And I think some ice…?"

"Are you being sarcastic?" Yang asked.

"Ugh, I wish!" Ruby bitterly replied. "I tripped over some crabby girl's luggage, and then she yelled at me, and then I sneezed, and then I _exploded_, and then she yelled again, and I felt really, _really_ bad, and I just wanted her to stop yelling at me…"

Unbeknownst to Ruby, the girl in question was standing right behind her.

"_You_!"

"Oh god, it's happening again!" Ruby squealed, jumping into Yang's arms.

"You're lucky we weren't blown off the side of the cliff!" Weiss yelled.

"Oh my god, you really exploded…" Yang realised.

"Told you," Forrest said.

"It was an accident! It was an accident!" Ruby pleaded, standing up. She was about to continue speaking when a pamphlet was shoved in her face, titled 'DUST for Dummies and Other Inadequate Individuals'. "What's this?"

"'The Schnee Dust Company is not responsible for any injuries or damages sustained while operating a Schnee Dust Company product. Although not mandatory, the Schnee Family highly encourages their customers to read and familiarize themselves with this easy to follow guide to Dust applications and practices in the field.'" Weiss recited.

"Um…?"

"You really want to start making things up to me?"

"Absolutely."

"Read this and don't ever talk to me again," Weiss finished, handing the pamphlet to Ruby.

"I feel like we should be helping Ruby," Forrest whispered to Yang.

"You don't say," Yang replied, approaching Ruby and Weiss. "Look, uh, it sounds like you two just… got off on the wrong foot. Why don't you start over and try to be friends, okay?"

"Yeah! Great idea sis!" Ruby agreed, clearing her throat and extending her hand for a handshake. "Hello, Weiss! I'm Ruby! You wanna hang out? We can go shopping for school supplies."

"Yeah!" Weiss answered, a fake smile on her face. "And we can paint our nails, and try on clothes, and talk about cute boys like tall, blond and... scraggly over there!" She pointed behind her to Jaune, who perked up as she referred to him.

"Wow, really?" Ruby asked, not understanding the sarcasm.

"...No," Weiss replied.

As Yang looked away and Ruby slumped over in defeat, Forrest just glared at Weiss while she wasn't looking.

'_Okay,'_ he thought bitterly, '_now I'm _really _starting to hate her.'_

"Weiss!" a voice called.

The heiress turned to see Storm making his way through the crowd towards her.

"Storm!" she happily exclaimed as he reached her.

"Sorry, I lost you in the crowd," he apologised.

"Oh, don't worry about it! It's fine!" she said quickly.

_'Wow, one minute she's a bitch, but as soon as her friend shows up, she's one of the nicest people in the world.'_ Forrest observed bitterly.

"Are these friends of yours?" Storm asked upon noticing the others.

"Oh, uh, no." Weiss answered, trying to prevent her irritation from becoming obvious. "I just met them."

"I see," Storm answered before walking over to the people in question. "My name is Storm. It's a pleasure to meet you."

"Hello, Storm! I'm Yang!" the blond girl introduced. "This is my sister Ruby and my brother Forrest." She gestured to her siblings, who both waved.

"Well, I look forward to getting to know you," Storm replied, a warm smile on his face.

Over the speakers, they heard a man clear his throat. They looked on the stage and saw Professor Ozpin, standing in front of the microphone.

"I'll… keep this brief," he announced. "You have travelled here today in search of knowledge, to hone your craft and acquire new skills, and when you have finished, you plan to dedicate your life to the protection of the people. But I look amongst you, and all I see is wasted energy, in need of purpose, direction. You assume knowledge will free you of this, but your time at this school will prove that knowledge can only carry you so far. It is up to you to take the first step."

As he walked off the stage, Glynda Goodwitch took over, stepping up to the microphone.

"You will gather in the ballroom tonight. Tomorrow, your initiation begins. Be ready. You are dismissed."

As she left the stage, the students started talking amongst themselves again.

"He seemed kind of… off." Yang pointed out.

"It's almost like he wasn't even there," Ruby added.

As Forrest was about to throw his two cents in, Jaune appeared from the side, approaching Weiss.

"I'm a natural blond, you know," he announced.

Weiss merely facepalmed in exasperation.

"So, which of us should tell him what sarcasm is?" Forrest whispered to Yang, who snickered in response.

* * *

In the ballroom later in the night, the students were preparing to spend their first night in Beacon. Some students were setting up their sleeping bags while others were speaking to their friends.

As Ruby was writing a note and Forrest was maintaining his weapon (cleaning it, making sure no parts are loose, etc.) Yang crashed down on her sleeping bag next to them.

"It's like a big slumber party!" Yang exclaimed.

"I don't think Dad would approve of all the boys, though," Ruby replied.

"I don't really approve, myself," Forrest commented. "Bunch of show-offs."

'_And I don't even want to tell anyone what fresh hell I'll give them if they try anything stupid with my sisters,'_ Forrest thought bitterly.

"I know I do," Yang said, letting out a purr as she glanced at the shirtless boys with big muscles… and Jaune, walking by in a blue onesie.

"Eww," Yang groaned in discomfort. Trying to take her mind off that image, she looked over to Ruby, eying the paper. "What's that?"

"A letter to the gang back in Signal," Ruby answered. "I promised to tell them all about Beacon and how things are going."

"Aww, that's so _cute_!" Yang said. Ruby responded by throwing a pillow at her face.

"Shut up!" Ruby irritatedly said. "I didn't get to take my friends with me to school! It's weird not knowing anyone here."

"What about Jaune?" Yang reminded. "He's… nice. There you go! Plus one friend! That's a hundred percent increase!"

"Pretty sure Weiss counts as a negative friend," Ruby replied, taking a break from the letter and laying on her back. "Back to zero."

"There's no such thing as negative friends. You just made one friend and… one enemy," Yang attempted to reassure Ruby, getting another pillow to the face. "Look, it's only been one day. Trust me, you've got friends all around you. You just haven't met them yet."

"That's right," Forrest agreed. "Just wait until tomorrow. You're sure to meet plenty of people who you'll form long-lasting bonds with. Trust Yang and me when we say that."

The attention of the three was caught by the sound of a small flame being lit. They looked in that direction to see a girl with black hair, amber eyes and a black bow and pyjamas reading a book by a candle. Forrest and Ruby recognised her immediately.

"That girl…" Ruby mumbled, sharing a glance with her brother.

"You know her?" Yang asked.

"Not exactly," Forrest answered. "She witnessed the incident between Ruby and that other girl. Ruby attempted to get her name, but she left too quickly."

"Well, now's your chance!" Yang enthusiastically stated.

Before Ruby and Forrest could ask her what she meant, she grabbed them both by the arms and dragged them along.

"Wait! What are you doing?" Ruby asked.

"And why are you dragging me?" Forrest added.

Hearing Ruby groaning as they tried to escape her sister's grasp, the black-haired girl looked up from her book to see Yang dragging Ruby and Forrest towards her, an enthusiastic grin on her face.

"Hellooooo~!" she sang. She finally let go of Ruby and Forrest, gesturing towards the former. "I believe you may know each other."

"Aren't you that girl that exploded?" the black-haired girl asked bluntly.

"Uh yeah," Ruby answered. "My name's Ruby." She held a hand out to the girl in black, who merely returned to reading her book. Seeing this, Ruby pulled her hand back. "But you can just call me Crater… Actually, you can just call me Ruby."

"Okay," the black-haired girl replied, not looking up from her book.

"Real smooth.

"What are you doing?" Yang whispered to her sister.

"I don't know, help me!" Ruby answered quietly before the two looked back at the black-haired girl.

"So, what's your name?" Yang asked.

"Blake," the girl answered after giving out a silent, annoyed sigh, looking up at the three siblings.

"Well, Blake, I'm Yang," Yang replied, pointing to herself. "Ruby's older sister." She pointed to Forrest. "And this Forrest, our brother. I like your bow."

"Thanks," Blake replied, starting to get more annoyed.

"It goes great with your… pyjamas!" Yang forced a compliment.

"Right…" Blake responded with little emotion.

Ruby and Yang looked at each other nervously before looking back at Blake.

"Nice night, don't ya think?" Yang asked, struggling to keep the conversation going.

"Yes. It's lovely," Blake replied, irritation finally showing in her voice. "Almost as lovely as this book."

Ruby and Yang continued to smile nervously at her, the social cue flying completely over their heads. Forrest, on the other hand, being a bookworm himself, knew the value of alone time when reading. He gave a nod of understanding before leaving.

He went back to his sleeping bag and sat down, continuing to clean his weapon. After a while of being lost in his thoughts though, he heard a series of noises from across the room. He looked over to see a Ruby and Yang wrestling in front of Blake. Forrest stared in disapproval.

'_I go for one minute and they're already causing a racket!'_ he thought as he stood up and walked over to them.

"Well, Ruby, Yang," Blake said, "it's a pleasure to-"

"What in the world is going on over here?!" a voice interrupted.

The two sisters stopped fighting to look at the person who just arrived at the scene.

"Don't you realise some of us are trying to sleep?!" Weiss said, glaring.

Her glare soon intensified as she saw the two people causing the noise.

"Oh, not you again!" Weiss and Yang both yelled simultaneously, Weiss at Ruby and Yang at Weiss.

"Shh! Guys, she's right!" Ruby said. "People are trying to sleep!"

"Oh, _now_ you're on my side!" Weiss sarcastically said.

Forrest and Blake looked at each other before rolling their eyes at the ordeal.

"Sorry about my sisters," Forrest apologised, earning a sigh from Blake.

"Are they always like this?" she asked.

"Yeah, unfortunately. But on the plus side, living with them has made me a lot more tolerant towards constant racket."

"I see," Blake replied.

"By the way, that book..." Forrest said, changing the subject.

"Huh? What about it?" Blake responded, perking up.

"I've seen it in a bookstore a few times. Is it any good?"

"Yes, it's one of my favourites, actually."

"Well, I'll be sure to pick it up the next time I visit the bookstore."

Forrest noticed Blake actually smile. His Semblance could even pick up genuine happiness from her. He guessed that it was because she found someone who shared her love for books.

"If you want, I could also recommend you some of my books," Forrest suggested.

"Yeah, I'd like th-" Blake replied, but was cut off by Yang's voice.

"Well, maybe you should stop being such a stuck-up pain in the butt!"

Forrest and Blake both looked in front of them to see Ruby, Weiss and Yang still arguing.

"Well, it was nice to meet you, Blake," Forrest said with a sigh.

"Likewise," Blake replied.

Forrest stood up and headed over to the three to hopefully break up the fight.

Blake, realising she wasn't going to get any more quiet time to read her book, closed it and set it down. She then picked up the candle and blew it out before placing it back down and laying down to go to sleep.

* * *

After the fight finally broke up, Ruby, Yang and Forrest laid down to go to sleep.

_'Blake, huh?'_ Forrest thought. _'Seems kinda interesting...'_

* * *

**And that concludes Chapter 2!  
**

**So, Forrest has become friends with Blake due to their shared interest in books. Now, some of you may be thinking: 'Does this mean shipping?' To be honest... I don't know yet. I haven't decided whether to ship Forrest with Blake or somebody else.**

**But other than that, this chapter wasn't too different from the original version. Just a few minor dialogue changes.**

**But hey, Storm is here now! So two members of the team have been introduced, and the other two will be introduced next chapter! Are you excited for that? Because I am!**

**So, please leave your thoughts and questions in a review.**

**And as always, have a great day!**


	3. V1C3 - Initiation Part 1

**Vist-97:** I'm glad you enjoyed my story! I will be adding bios to my profile, but they will be updated with information as it's revealed throughout the story. That's just how I work. Also, thanks for the story recommendation, I'll check it out!

**sparkydragon98:** Don't apologise, I got a good chuckle out of it! It happens to all of us!

Hey man, I can relate to having a bad memory! Yeah, Weiss and Storm's reunion was pretty much the same as the original version, other than a few words being changed. But I'm glad you enjoyed it!

I am a lot like Forrest too. I let things happen, let my friends screw up and laugh and spit sarcasm at them afterwards. I'm such a great friend, aren't I? I'm still not sure about pairing Forrest and Blake, but we'll see.

Glad you're excited to see Lav again! Interesting that you don't like Robin as much, though I can understand why. He was kinda the generic edgy teammate that hates people and only thinks about being the best. However, this version of Robin... let's just say he's _very_ different from the previous version.

* * *

As Forrest let out a yawn, he looked around the ballroom, taking in the sights. He saw the sleeping forms of a large number of potential students, two of them being his sisters.

'_Well, better wake them up,'_ he thought. '_It's almost time to get ready.'_

He reached over and nudged Ruby gently. She groaned before slowly opening her eyes. She sat up and looked over at her brother.

"Morning, Forrest," she greeted.

"Morning," Forrest replied. "Hope you slept well last night. Initiation's coming up and we need to give it our all."

"Right," Ruby said. "So, first priority…" Her stomach rumbled, interrupting her. "...Breakfast."

Forrest then turned to look at Yang, hearing her incoherently mumble in her sleep. He reached over and nudged her as he did to Ruby. Yang, however, didn't wake up. Instead, she turned in the direction of Forrest… and kneed him in the face in her sleep. He sprawled backwards, holding his bleeding nose. Ruby gasped at the sight, crouching next to him.

"Forrest, are you okay?" Ruby asked.

"Seems like it's gonna be one of _those_ mornings…" he muttered in reply, sitting up.

"Wake up, lazy bud!" a voice enthusiastically yelled on the other side of the ballroom.

Forrest and Ruby looked over to see a boy and a girl.

The girl had orange, shoulder-length hair and turquoise eyes. Her choice of clothing was a collared black vest with red and light blue clothing underneath. On top was a white, sleeveless top that formed a tiny heart shape on her chest with white detached sleeves on both arms and pink fingerless gloves, a pink, thigh-length skirt and white boots with pink laces and soles. She also had armour from her shoulders to her waist, although not full armour.

As she danced around the boy, singing "It's morning~" over and over, he sighed.

The boy had long black hair tied into a ponytail with a magenta streak on the left side of his hair, matching his eyes. He was wearing a dark green, diagonally-buttoned, long-sleeved tailcoat that was red on the inside, with black and gold trimming and pink cuffs. Underneath was a black, long-sleeved shirt, light-tan pants and black shoes.

"Well, at least I'm better off than him," Forrest said, pointing to the boy.

Forrest heard a yawn from next to him. He turned to see Yang sitting up, stretching her arms. She looked at her two siblings with a smile.

"Morning, Ruby. Morning, Forrest," she said. Her smile was replaced with a face of confusion. "What happened to your nose?"

Forrest sighed before replying.

"I tripped."

* * *

As the three siblings were in the locker room, continuing to prepare for initiation, the orange-haired girl continued her rambling.

"I know! We'll have some sort of signal! Like a distress signal!" She gasped. "A _secret_ signal so we can find each other in the forest! Can you imitate a sloth?"

"Nora?" the black-haired boy finally responded.

"Yes, Ren?" the orange-haired girl, now identified as Nora, answered.

"I don't think sloths make a lot of noise," Ren calmly replied.

'_Wow,'_ Forrest thought, _'he is the_ definition _of patience.'_

"That's why it's _perfect_!" Nora exclaimed after a moment of thinking. "No one will suspect we're working together!"

"Come on, Nora, let's go," Ren said, smiling and shutting his locker.

"But not 'together-together'," Nora replied, giggling.

As the two headed out, Ren walking and Nora skipping, they passed the three siblings.

"Wonder what those two are so worked up about?" Ruby inquired.

"Oh, who knows?" Yang replied. "So, you seem awfully chipper this morning!"

"Yep!" Ruby happily confirmed. "No more awkward small talk or 'getting-to-know-you' stuff. Today, I get to let my sweetheart do the talking." She stroked Crescent Rose as she sighed.

"Well, remember, Ruby, you're not the only one going through initiation." Yang reminded. "If you wanna grow up, you're gonna have to meet new people and learn to work together."

Ruby groaned in frustration.

"You sound like _Dad_!" she exclaimed, shoving her weapon into her locker. "Okay. First of all: What does meeting new people have to do with fighting? And secondly: I don't need people to help me grow up! I drink _milk_!"

"Yeah, like a rebel" Forrest replied sarcastically.

"But what about when we form teams?" Yang asked.

"Um, I don't know…" Ruby nervously answered. "I… I'll just be on your team or Forrest's team or something…"

"Maybe you should try being on someone else's team?" Yang suggested, stroking her hair.

"That sounds like a good idea," Forrest agreed.

"My dear sister Yang and my dear brother Forrest, are you implying that you do not wish to be on the same team as me?" Ruby demanded with an accusing look.

Forrest waved his hands in front of him in protest.

"N-no! Not at all!" he defended. "We just... uh..."

He gave Yang a look, as if to say "help me!"

"Well, we just thought…" Yang attempted to continue, "I don't know, maybe it would help you… break out of your shell."

"What the-?!" Ruby exclaimed. "I don't need to 'break out of my shell'! That's absolutely-"

"Ridiculous!" someone unintentionally finished Ruby's sentence.

A confused looking Jaune walked between the siblings, holding a map.

"There's no way I put my gear in locker 636 yesterday!" he exclaimed in disbelief. "I would've remembered having to count that high! Why does this have to happen today?"

"Well, he seems like he's off to a bad start, today." Ruby observed.

"Yeah…" Yang agreed. She then looked around, noticing something else. "Hey, where's Forrest?"

Ruby looked around and saw him walking around a corner. She followed after him a hurry.

"Hey, wait!" Yang called out to her, before letting out a groan of annoyance when her call was in vain.

"Heh, siblings, am I right?" a male voice asked.

Yang turned around to see a boy pulling two large mallets out of his locker.

The boy had orange hair and brown eyes. His outfit was very simple; an orange hoodie over a black t-shirt, a red handkerchief around his neck, grey cargo shorts and orange sneakers.

"Yeah, siblings…" Yang replied. She reached her hand out to the boy. "The name's Yang, nice to meet you."

The boy grabbed it and shook it.

"I'm Lav, and, uh, same." the boy replied. The two pulled their hands back. "So, your first time here at Beacon?"

"Yep. Yours?" Yang answered.

"Uh huh." Lav uttered. "Are you excited for initiation?"

"Yeah, definitely!" Yang exclaimed. "Finally, a chance for some action!" She emphasised by slamming her fists together. "What about you?"

"Yep, definitely," Lav replied. "I've been excited since yesterday."

He then reached into the pocket on the front of his hoodie, pulling out a lollipop. He unwrapped it and stuck it in his mouth. He pulled out another one and held it towards Yang.

"Lollipop?" the boy offered.

"No thanks," Yang declined.

Lav shrugged and put it back in his pocket.

"So, I wonder how teams are going to be formed?" Yang inquired.

"Actually, I have a theory-" Lav started, but was interrupted by an announcement on the intercoms.

"Would all first-year students please report to Beacon Cliff for initiation?" Glynda's voice played over the speakers. "Again, all first-year students report to Beacon Cliff immediately."

"-that will either be proven or disproven today," Lav finished.

"Well, I should probably go get my brother and sister," Yang said. "It was nice meeting you."

"Same to you," Lav replied.

Lav waved to the blond girl and watched as she walked off before making his way out of the locker room.

* * *

Meanwhile, in another part of the locker room, Ruby finally managed to catch up to Forrest.

"Hey, you shouldn't wander off like that," Ruby said to him.

"Sorry, felt like exploring," he replied.

"Well, the announcement said we have to go to Beacon Cliff," Ruby reminded. "Initiation is about to start."

"Oh, right," Forrest realised. "Then let's get going quickly."

As the two turned around, Forrest bumped into someone, falling on the ground. The person he bumped into, however, was still standing.

This person was a boy with black hair and blue eyes. His outfit was a cyan trenchcoat over a black shirt, a black belt, dark grey pants and black boots.

"You okay?" the boy asked, offering Forrest a hand.

"Yeah, sorry about that," Forrest apologised as the boy helped him up.

"It's fine," the boy assured with a smile. "My name's Robin, by the way."

"I'm Forrest," the green-haired boy replied.

"I'm Ruby," his sister added.

"Nice to meet you both," Robin said.

He opened up the locker next to him and pulled out a pair of metal gloves. He put them on his hands before closing the locker.

"Well, initiation starts today, so I hope you're both ready," Robin reminded.

"Yeah, I'm ready," Forrest said.

"So am I," Ruby agreed.

"Good, let's give it our all," Robin said with a confident smile. "C'mon, let's go."

The three then left for the cliff together.

* * *

Later, near the edge of Beacon Cliff, overlooking a forest, several students stood on silver tiles. Professors Ozpin and Goodwitch were standing in front of them, the former holding a mug and the latter holding a tablet.

"For years, you have trained to become warriors, and today, your abilities will be evaluated in the Emerald Forest," Ozpin said.

"Now, I'm sure many of you have heard rumours about the assignment of teams," Goodwitch began. "Well, allow us to put an end to your confusion. Each of you will be given teammates... _today_."

"What?" Ruby uttered, whimpering.

"These teammates will be with you for the rest of your time here at Beacon," Ozpin continued. "So it is in your best interest to be paired with someone with whom you can work well."

Ruby let out another whine.

"That being said, the first person you make eye contact with after landing will be your partner for the next four years."

"Whaaaat?!" Ruby cried.

"See? I told you!" Nora exclaimed to Ren.

"After you've partnered up, make your way to the northern end of the forest," Ozpin continued. "You will meet opposition along the way. Do not hesitate to destroy everything in your path... or you will die."

Jaune laughed nervously and then gulped loudly.

"You will be monitored and graded through the duration of your initiation, but our instructors will not intervene. You will find an abandoned temple at the end of the path containing several relics. Each pair must choose one and return to the top of the cliff. We will regard that item, as well as your standing, and grade you appropriately. Are there any questions?"

"Yeah, um, sir?" Jaune said, raising his hand.

"Good!" Ozpin ignored him. "Now, take your positions."

Everyone moved their bodies into various positions on their tiles as they prepared to be launched. Jaune, however, was still raising his hand.

"Uh, sir? I've got, um... a question," he said.

Down the line, the tile under Weiss activated, springing her through the air and into the forest. More platforms activated down the line.

"So, this landing... strategy thing... Uh, wha-what is it?" Jaune inquired. "You're, like, dropping us off or something?"

"No. You will be falling," Ozpin answered bluntly.

"Oh, uh, I see... So, like, did you hand out parachutes for us?" Jaune continued asking.

"No. You will be using your own landing strategy."

"Uh huh... Yeah."

As Yang's turn came around, she winked at her younger sister and brother and put on a pair of aviator shades. Her tile activated and she flew off with a "Woo-hoooooooo!".

"Good luck," Forrest said to Ruby before he was launched, a second before his sister joined him.

Jaune failed to notice the tile below him about to activate.

"So, what exactly is a landing strategYYY!" his question devolved into a helpless scream as he was launched into the air, flailing about.

Ozpin turned and watched, sipping from his mug.

* * *

Over the Emerald Forest, a bird slowly flew along unprepared for what happened next. A certain red-cloaked girl slammed into it, sending a burst of feathers everywhere.

"Birdie, no!" Ruby cried as she continues falling.

As she finally got her bearings, she aimed Crescent Rose ahead of her and fired off several shots, slowing her descent. The weapon then converted into its scythe form as she used the blade to catch a tree branch, swinging off of it.

Weiss, armed with her rapier, summoned a Glyph underneath her, stopping her fall before she jumped off of it.

Forrest pulled out his weapon, converting it into its spear form. He threw it into a tree branch, the blade piercing into it and the hande upright. As he fell, Forrest grabbed onto the handle, using the blade to swing around the branch and launch off, dropping to the ground.

Ren spun in the air, thrusting the blades of his weapons into a tree trunk and spiralling down to the ground. He dusted his clothes and started his walk before hearing a distant boom. He looked up and saw Yang rocketing through the sky.

"Woo hoo!" she screamed, firing her shot-gauntlets and propelling herself through the sky. "Yeah!" She continued cheering. "Alley-oop!" Soaring over the treetops, Yang continued spinning and laughing with each shot, crashing through the leaves of a tree, before jumping off of two trunks and tumbling to the ground, rolling. "Nailed it!" She continued running.

Nearby, someone else was rocketing through the air as well. Lav was holding the handles of his mallets and standing on their heads, which had rockets built into them. He switched them off and proceeded to fall to the ground. He then pointed the rockets towards the ground and at the right moment, activated them again, slowing his descent until he was a few inches above the ground. He deactivated them once again and dropped to the ground, putting his mallets on his back as he started walking... somewhere.

* * *

As Forrest continued through the... well... forest, he turned to the sound of someone crashing through the trees. He looked up to see a red-haired girl land on a tree branch, aiming around with what looks to be a rifle. As a scream rang out, Forrest looked up to see Jaune, still flailing like a madman as he plummeted towards the ground. He then saw the red-haired girl aiming her weapon, which had transformed into a spear, towards Jaune. He watched in awe as she threw it, pinning Jaune to a tree.

"Thank you!" Jaune yelled out in the distance.

"I'm sorry!" the red-haired girl shouted back.

_'Huh, wonder what she's apologising for?'_ Forrest thought. _'Oh well. Maybe I should see if she'll partner with me.'_

He began to walk over in her direction until he heard movement in the bushes behind him, making him stop. When he focused his Semblance, he could still hear the rustling, but he couldn't sense anyone. That could only mean...

_'Grimm,'_ he thought.

He turned and pulled out his weapon in its crossbow form. He aimed towards the bushes and fired a bolt just as Beowolf leapt out. The bolt hit it in the eye and it screeched out in pain. As it prepared to fight back, it was too late as Forrest's weapon converted into a spear and, with one swing, Forrest decapitated the creature. He turned as he heard two more Beowolves emerge. He took aim and threw his spear into the head of one of the monsters. He backflipped as the remaining Beowolf swiped at him, narrowly avoiding its paw. He tried to run over to his weapon, but the Beowolf continued its pursuit, swiping at him repeatedly. He kicked the Beowolf in the face, distracting it while he ran over to his weapon, pulling it out of the dead Beowolf's head. However, as he turned around to continue fighting, he barely managed to duck in time as the Beowolf's corpse flew over him. He looked back to where the corpse came from, seeing a familiar face.

"Oh hey, it's you," Forrest greeted. "Robin, right?"

"Yep," Robin returned with a two-finger salute. "So, we're partners now."

"I guess so," Forrest confirmed.

"Cool," Robin said with a smile. "So, if I remember correctly, the temple is this way."

Robin began walking, presumably in the direction of the temple.

"Alright, let's go," Forrest replied as he followed him.

* * *

**Sorry for the abrupt ending, but I wasn't sure how to continue.**

**So, Lav and Robin have entered the fray, and they are pretty different from the last version of the story. Lav is still lazy, but he doesn't have an alternate personality any more. Meanwhile, Robin is _nothing_ like he was before. Rather than being asocial and edgy, he's actually friendly.**

**I hope the dialogue seemed natural. I'm not too sure.**

**But anyway, be sure to leave your thoughts in a review, because I always love to hear feedback!**

**And as always, have a great day!**


	4. V1C4 - Initiation Part 2

**Part 2 of intitiation! What will happen? Let's find out! ...After this review.**

* * *

**sparkydragon98:** I'm glad you found it funny! I think it's safe to assume it doesn't happen all that often. Also, it has been confirmed that aura isn't automatic. You have to manually activate it and it eventually becomes second nature. But he probably wasn't expecting to be hit by his own sister!

I haven't seen Akame ga Kill, though it is on my list of anime I want to watch. And don't worry, Lav will still have a certain element of Val's personality!

I _knew_ you'd be surprised by the new Robin! After reading other RWBY Fanfics on both FanFiction and Wattpad, I have noticed that a _lot _of people do the whole 'edgy, asocial teammate with a tragic backstory that makes him hate/distrust people' thing and figured that I'd be better off changing Robin to avoid that trope.

Well, this chapter literally _starts_ with Storm, so here you go.

You won't be waiting any longer! Here we go!

* * *

"Dialogue"

'_Thoughts'_

* * *

In another area of the Emerald Forest, Storm made his way north, searching for his childhood friend. He realised how unlikely it was that she was nearby. After all, the Emerald Forest was a big place and all the students were spread out. Add in the fact that he didn't see her on his way down and the chances weren't looking any better.

_'I suppose all I can do is hope to find her first on the way to the temple,_ he thought. _'And besides, it wouldn't hurt to have someone else as a partner instead...'_

"Hello?" a male voice called out.

_'...Which seems to be what fate has in store for me. Well, time to meet my new partner.'_

Storm quickly headed in the direction the voice came from. As he was running, he heard distant growls.

_'Grimm,_ he recognised. _'I hope this person can handle... them...'_

His thoughts trailed off as he reached a clearing, where he saw a sight to behold. An orange-haired boy was swinging around two mallets, striking a pair of Ursai both in the ribs. He swung one of them into the side of one Ursa's face and used his other mallet to perform an upward strike into the chin of the other.

_'Well, it seems I have nothing to worry about,'_ Storm thought.

As the Ursai recovered, they both attacked the orange-haired boy at once. He then held both of his mallets out, with both of them pointing in opposite directions, and pressed a button on both handles. Storm watched in amazement as flames shot out of the heads of the mallets, propelling them around and causing the boy to spin in a circle. The weapons both struck the Ursai in the heads with enough force to detach them from their necks and send them flying like giant baseballs.

Storm stared in awe at the spectacle. The orange-haired boy let out a maniacal laugh as his attached his hammers to his back.

"Guess you should've quit while you were... a-head," he said, chuckling.

Storm internally groaned as he walked towards the boy, who noticed him.

"Oh, heya there," the boy greeted. "So, I guess we're partners?"

"Indeed," Storm confirms. "My name is Storm. It's a pleasure to meet you."

"Same to you," the boy agrees. "The name's Lav."

The two began making their way to the temple.

"So, where are you from?" Lav asked, hoping to pass the time by getting to know Storm.

"Well, I was born in Atlas, but moved to Vale a few years ago," Storm replied.

"A Faunus in Atlas, huh?" Lav said. "Must've been pretty tough for you. I mean, it's hard for Faunus to get jobs in Atlas."

"Don't worry," Storm assured. "My father was a human, so he was able to get a job easily."

"Oh, that makes sense," Lav realised.

"What about you?" Storm returned the question.

"Born and raised in Vale," Lav answers. "What can I say? My parents loved the place and decided they wanted to live here."

"I can definitely see why," Storm said. "Vale is quite a wonderful place."

"Yeah," Lav agreed, pulling out a lollipop, unwrapping it and sticking it in his mouth. He then pulled out another lollipop and held it out to Storm.

"Oh, why not?" Storm said, taking it from him and doing the same as Lav. "Thank you."

"No prob," Lav replied.

The two continued forward.

As they approached a clearing, Storm noticed something odd.

"Lav, do you see that?" he asked, pointing towards an odd structure...

* * *

Meanwhile, in another part of the forest, Robin and Forrest continued their own journey towards the temple.

"Do you see the temple yet?" Forrest asked.

"Not yet, but I feel like we're close," Robin replied. "So, where are you from?

"Vale," Forrest replied, "lived here my whole life."

"Neat, I'm from Vacuo," Robin said. "I moved to Vale just this year."

"Cool, are you enjoying your time here?"

"Oh yeah, definitely."

As they continued onward, getting to know each other more, they entered a clearing.

"Looks like we're here," Robin said, pointing ahead to a ruined structure.

They both walked over to it, investigating what they saw.

"These must be the relics," Forrest assumed as he pointed to a number of pedestals, holding black and gold chess pieces.

"I guess so," Robin agreed, taking a black knight piece. "Alright, now we just have to get to the cliff."

As the two began walking, Forrest turned around as he sensed two people approaching.

"Hey Forrest, is something wrong?" Robin asked as he noticed Forrest stop.

The two saw a wolf-eared Faunus in a suit and a boy in an orange hoodie.

"Why hello there!" the Faunus gentleman greeted.

"Hey, you're Storm, right?" Forrest asked.

"That's right," Storm confirmed. "And if I remember correctly, your name is Forrest, yes?"

"You got it," Forrest answered.

"I'm Lav," the boy in the orange hoodie added.

"Nice to meet you," Forrest said.

"Yo! I'm Robin," Robin greeted with a wave.

"A pleasure to meet you," Storm replied.

"Hey," Lav said.

"Well, as much as I'm enjoying this meet 'n' greet, we should probably get back to finishing the initiation," Forrest reminded.

Storm and Lav looked at each other, before nodding in agreement.

"He does have a point, let's go," Lav said.

The two walked over to the pedestals and selected their piece.

"Well, I suppose it's time for us to leave then," Storm said.

"Alright, let's get going!" Forrest said.

The four then began making their way to the cliff.

* * *

Later, elsewhere in the forest...

"So you and your sister took on Roman Torchwick," Storm summarised, "and because of that, Professor Ozpin decided to let you both into Beacon Academy, with your sister being two years early?"

"Yep, that's pretty accurate," Forrest confirmed.

"Gotta admit, that's pretty impressive," Lav stated. "Outta curiosity, what's your sister like?"

"Well, she's socially awkward, naive, and don't even get me started on how childish she is," Forrest described Ruby, "but at the same time, she's brave, determined and always willing to put others before herself."

"Wow, what a girl!" Storm said. "Such qualities are quite admirable indeed."

"Yeah, you've got one hell of a sister," Lav agreed.

"Indeed I do," Forrest said. "I also have another sister. Her name's Yang."

This statement gained Lav's attention as he remembered meeting a certain blond brawler in the locker room.

"She's quite adventurous and loves action, to the point of getting very bored when there's nothing big happening. Oh, and she likes puns, much to everyone else's dismay, except for Dad," Forrest shuddered at the memories of Yang's puns as he concluded his description of his sister.

"Oh yeah, I met Yang," Lav said.

"Oh, really?" Forrest asked.

"Yep, in the locker room," Lav confirms. "Actually, I thought you looked familiar. It was right after you and your other sister left."

"Oh, well what do you know?" Forrest said.

"How interesting." Storm replied. "I'd love to meet your sisters sometime. They sound so wonderf-"

Storm stopped however and narrowed his eyes, scanning the area around the group.

"Heya, what's wrong?" Lav asked.

"I hear Grimm, all around us," Storm explained.

"I guess that makes sense, he's got wolf ears," Lav said.

The Faunus' statement was proven correct as several Beowolves and Ursai appeared from through the trees. A Beowolf let out a howl while several Ursai let out growls.

Preparing for the imminent fight, Forrest pulled out his crossbow, immediately loading a bolt onto it. Lav followed suit by pulling his two mallets off his back and resting them on his shoulders. Storm pulled out two katanas from two sheathes on his waist. Meanwhile, Robin's metal gloves extended into gauntlets, going all the way to his elbows.

"I suggest you all prepare yourselves!" Storm stated.

"Oh, I'm prepared for a fight alright!" Lav exclaimed with excitement in his voice. "I've been waiting for some fun all day!"

"Time to see if we're ready," Forrest said, aiming his weapon.

"Oh come on, we're Huntsmen in training," Robin reminded the group. "The question isn't if _we're_ ready..." He grinned. "The question is if the _Grimm_ are ready."

As the Grimm launched themselves towards the group to attack, Storm, Lav, Forrest and Robin all leapt towards the horde, prepared to prove themselves worthy of a spot in Beacon Academy.

* * *

**Aaaaand cliffhanger! So, the next chapter will be the finale of initiation. How well will our four Huntsmen-in-training do? We'll see soon!**

**As usual, please leave your thoughts in a review, as any and all constructive criticism will really help me improve the quality of my stories.**

**And as always, have a great day!**


	5. V1C5 - Initiation Part 3

**Welp, it's been a while. So much for "a chapter every few days"...**

**Sorry about the wait, guys, I was super busy and having to deal with so many problems, which just sapped my motivation so even when I had the time to write, I just... didn't feel like it. I will whole-heartedly take responsibility for this and instead of giving excuses and apologising a ton, I'll try to make up for the wait by working harder.**

**But anyway, as they say, better late than never. So quick review time, then we _finally_ get back into this story!**

* * *

**Vist-97:** I'm glad you like where this is going! To answer your question, the others are in different parts of the forest.  
Cliffhangers are commonly used in stories to let the reader guess what will happen next and keep them wanting more, which is why some chapters will end with cliffhangers. Also, if I only ever published chapters with no cliffhangers and instead presented the problem/conflict and then solved it within the same chapter every time, I would be releasing them less frequently since I would have to write the entire arc from start to finish in a single chapter before publishing it, rather than publishing individual parts.  
I haven't gotten around to reading The Storm of KEPL yet, but I will eventually.  
As for your second review though, this story is far from over if that's what you mean. I'm going to make more chapters, but it will take time. I honestly wish I could just snap my fingers and "Poof!" a chapter into existence, but unfortunately, that's not how it works.

**sparkydragon98:** Thanks, pal!  
I'm glad you like Lav's fighting style! In case you don't know, his weapons are based on Reinhardt's hammer in Overwatch. Fun Fact: His love for puns is based on myself!  
Have fun getting used to the new Robin, because he's sticking around!  
Glad you're excited for the fight this chapter! I hope it manages to deliver!

* * *

Storm was the first to draw blood, slashing two Beowolves in the stomachs with his katanas, distracting them while he sliced off their heads. He sidestepped to avoid a charging Ursa before stabbing it in the neck. He then jumped on top of another Ursa and stabbed one katana into its back. He held on tightly as the Ursa flailed about, trying to throw him off. His other katana morphed into a pistol and he fired several bullets at the other Grimm around him as he continued gripping to the weapon that was impaled in the monster for dear life. Eventually, the blade dislodged from the demonic bear's back, forcing Storm to flip and land on his feet. His pistol morphed back into its katana form and he charged back in, determined to slice the Ursa apart.

Nearby, Lav was swinging his rocket-propelled hammers around, sending Beowolves flying through the air and Ursai sprawling to the ground. He then aimed his hammers upwards and used the rockets to shoot up into the air. He then aimed downward and activated the rockets again, travelling down like a meteor and smashing the heads of two Ursai into the dirt. He held his hammers out, aiming one forward and one backward. Once again, he activated the rockets which caused him to start spinning at unbelievable speed, delivering a devastating blow to any Grimm that attempted to approach him and laughing wildly the entire time. He then stopped spinning, a little dizzy, but still able to fight.

Forrest quickly took aim with his crossbow and fires a bolt at the Beowolf in front of him, hitting it in the eye and causing it to fall to the ground. He then converted his crossbow into its spear form and dashed in, swinging it around with quick but precise movements. He managed to decapitate several Beowolves before he thrust his weapon toward an Ursa, the blade piercing through its skull. Hearing a Beowolf behind him, he pulled the spear out of the Ursa's head, turned on his heel and moved his spear in front of his torso, just in time to block the monster's claw. He scowled as he pushed away from the beast and began his counterattack.

An Ursa turned to the left in time to see a metallic right fist thrusting toward its face, courtesy of Robin. The gauntlet made impact and the gravity dust inside activated, causing the Ursa to be sent flying, hurtling into an unfortunate Beowolf. As the Beowolves around it continued their path towards Robin, he then delivered a fiery uppercut to one of them, using his left gauntlet, lighting the Beowolf's chin on fire. He then began his onslaught of punches, either sending Beowolves flying or lighting them on fire. Seeing Forrest too distracted by the Beowolf in front of him to notice an Ursa about to attack him from behind, Robin started running towards it. Then, in a literal instant, he appeared right in front of it and delivered an uppercut with his right gauntlet, launching it into the air before punching it with the same gauntlet and launching it into another Ursa.

Eventually, the four realised that the area was clear. They took this chance to finally catch their breaths. They walked to the centre of the clearing they fought in, meeting back up with each other.

"So, that was intense," Lav stated the obvious.

"Indeed," Storm panted. "It _was_ intense. But exciting nonetheless!"

"That was kind of fun," Forrest agreed.

"Yeah, I had a pretty good time," Robin sighed. "Hopefully we'll face greater challenges in the future."

"Well, we still have an initiation to finish," Lav reminds everyone. "So let's get going."

"Yes! Onward!" Storm enthusiastically ordered.

The four started walking towards the cliff, continuing to get to know each other.

* * *

"So, that was fun," Yang said as she and her teammates walked back to the top of the cliff.

"Yeah, that was awesome!" Nora, the ginger-haired girl, agreed.

"I honestly thought we were going to die..." Jaune mumbled, barely audible.

"Oh, don't be so dramatic, we were fine," a girl reassured the blond knight.

This girl had green eyes that complemented her red hair, that was tied in a ponytail. Her outfit was a brown corset with a lighter-brown stripe down the middle, brown gloves that extended up past her elbows, a black skirt with a red sash wrapped around it and brown boots with bronze trim. Unlike most of her teammates, she also wore armour, on her thighs, shins and left forearm.

"It was exhausting, but we managed to survive and complete our initiation," Ren added.

"So now we just have to get to the top of the cliff and we're done!" Ruby exclaimed, going into 'fangirl mode'. "Oh, I can't wait to be a student at Beacon Academy! It's gonna be so awesome! I'm gonna be a Huntress!"

"Calm down, sis," Yang said, grabbing her younger sister's hood to stop her from running around.

"Glad to know _someone_ is acting mature..." Weiss sarcastically remarked.

"Hey, Ruby! Yang!" A voice called out.

The two girls in question looked ahead to see Forrest, along with Lav, Robin and Storm.

"Forrest!" Ruby yelled as she used her Semblance to speed towards him.

Forrest barely had enough time to react as the red blur crashed into him, sending them both tumbling to the ground as she hugged him.

"You made it! Oh, I'm so happy!" Ruby exclaimed excitedly.

"Thanks, now please get off..." Forrest replied, annoyed.

"Hey, good job, bro," Yang congratulated as Ruby finally stood up and offered a hand to her brother, which he accepted.

She gave him a one-armed hug and ruffled his hair, much to his annoyance. As she looked ahead at the rest of her brother's team walking towards them, she spotted a familiar orange-haired boy.

"Hey, Lav!" she greeted, finally letting go of Forrest and walking towards the lazy guy.

Relieved, Forrest immediately proceeded to adjust his hair back into its usual style. To be honest, it wasn't that much better.

Weiss rushed over and hugged Storm as well. Luckily, thanks to her Semblance _not_ being super speed, she didn't crash into the wolf Faunus, allowing the two to remain standing.

Robin walked over to Forrest, who had just finished readjusting his hair.

"So, we took out a horde of Grimm," he recalled. "Not bad for a first day, huh?"

"Heh, yeah," Forrest replied, "though I'm still a little bit exhausted."

"Yeah, not gonna lie, that fight took a lot out of me too. But hey, at least the fight proved two things."

"And those are?"

"One, we're capable of becoming Huntsmen and two," Robin smiled and held out his hand to Forrest, "we can count on one another."

Forrest returned the smile, taking Robin's hand and shaking it.

"You bet we can, partner," he agreed.

* * *

"Russel Thrush, Cardin Winchester, Dove Bronzewing, Sky Lark," Ozpin read out as the screen of the amphitheatre showed the pictures of four boys.

Those boys stood lined up in front of Ozpin as the audience applauded.

"The four of you retrieved the black bishop pieces. From this day forward, you will work together as Team CRDL, led by... Cardin Winchester."

The audience applauded again as the four boys walked off the stage before Jaune, Nora, Pyrrha and Ren took their place. The screen changed to show their faces.

"Jaune Arc, Lie Ren, Pyrrha Nikos, Nora Valkyrie," Ozpin continued. "The four of you retrieved the white rook pieces. From this day forward, you will work together as Team JNPR."

Nora gave Ren a hug and laughed as the audience clapped.

"Led by... Jaune Arc!"

"Huh? L-Led by...?" Jaune stammered, surprised at Ozpin's choice.

"Congratulations, young man."

Pyrrha gave her new leader a friendly shoulder bump, accidentally knocking him over in front of the audience, who laughed as she grinned.

As the four left the stage, Storm, Lav, Forrest and Robin took their places. The screen once again changed to show their faces.

"Storm McCloud, Forrest Xiao-Long, Lav Magma, Robin Turq. The four of your retrieved the black knight pieces. From this day forward, you will work together as Team SLFR. Led by... Storm McCloud."

Storm gave a mock salute.

"I will not let you down, sir!" he exclaimed before turning to his team. "I will lead you to the best of my ability!"

Lav grinned and gave a thumbs up at his enthusiasm, while Forrest and Robin smiled.

The four left the stage, being replaced by Ruby, Weiss, Blake and Yang. Once more, the four boys' pictures were replaced by the four girls'.

"And finally, Blake Belladonna, Ruby Rose, Weiss Schnee, Yang Xiao Long," Ozpin continued. "The four of you retrieved the white knight pieces. From this day forward, you will work together as Team RWBY. Led by... Ruby Rose!

Weiss looked at Ruby with clear surprise, while Ruby is in shock.

"I'm so proud of you!" Yang exclaimed while hugging her sister tightly.

Ruby, still confused, looked into the crowd, where she saw her brother giving her a thumbs up and a smile that said "good job, I know you can do it!" She smiled back at him with determination.

"It looks like things are shaping up to be an... interesting year," Ozpin remarked.

* * *

**Well, here we are, finally done! It's good to be back!**


	6. V1C6 - Day One

**Ah, it just feels so good to be back in the swing of things! So, time for the team's first day at Beacon! How will it go?**

* * *

**Guest DCDGojira: **Thank you very much! I hope I can keep improving.

**sparkydragon98:** Hey, I'm offended! _Of course_ I haven't forgotten about this story! All joking aside though, yeah, it's been a long time. But I'm back now!

Yeah, I often find myself taking inspiration from other things. It's a habit of mine. Also, "who doesn't love puns"? Uh, most of my friends would like a word with you! Any time I make a pun, I can _feel_ their desire to punch me in the face!

Well, the fight was basically the same with just a few edits, though I'm glad you liked it! Lav does still have his craziness in battle, so at least there's that. I'm glad you like Robin's weapons and Semblance. I can't wait to see what your version of the idea is and how it will work in your story!

Good to know that you like this Robin more than the original Robin! As I said before, I realised he was a bit too edgy to be a likeable character, so I changed him to be more friendly and open, though there is more to his character than just being a nice guy, don't worry!

Hey, no problem, man! I'm a patient guy, so I can wait for your responses.

Well, your wait for this chapter is over now!

* * *

"Dialogue"

_'Thoughts'_

* * *

As the sun shone through the window of the dorm, Forrest opened his eyes, scanning the room. He sat up in his bed, scratching his dark-green hair.

_'That's right,'_ he remembered, _'I passed initiation yesterday. I'm officially a student at Beacon.'_

"Good morning, Forrest!" an enthusiastic voice greeted.

Forrest looked to see Storm and Lav standing at the door in their school uniforms, the former being the one who greeted him. Storm smiled warmly at him while Lav had a tired smile on his face.

"Morning," Forrest replied, letting out a yawn before standing up and walking over to them.

"I hope you slept well because we're going to need all of our focus today!" Storm reminded.

"Yeah, definitely," Forrest agreed.

As they heard the bathroom door open, they turned to see Robin, also in uniform.

"Morning," Robin greeted. "Bathroom's free. You should probably change into your uniform."

"Right, thanks," Forrest responded.

"After you've gotten dressed, we can set up our room!" Storm said.

"Sounds like a plan," Forrest agreed.

Storm's expression became a determined smile as he faced his teammates.

"Team SLFR's adventures in Beacon Academy begin today! Team SLFR is raring to go!"

He then raised his arm into the air.

"Go team!"

Forrest and Robin's arms joined Storm's in the air. Lav raised his arm too, albeit more lazily.

"Go team!" the three remaining members echoed their leader's call, with Lav's being more of a statement than a battle cry.

"Yay, camaraderie, power of friendship and all that jazz," Lav said tiredly.

* * *

About an hour and a half later, the members of Team SLFR, as well as other students, such as Teams RWBY and JNPR, were seated in a classroom, listening to the ramblings of this lesson's teacher.

"Monsters! Deeeemons! Prowlers of the night!" the professor at the front of the classroom listed.

He appeared to be in the beginnings of his old age, with grey hair and a grey mustache. He was also slightly overweight. He was wearing a burgundy, double-breasted suit with gold piping and buttons and burgundy pants tucked into olive boots.

"Yes, the creatures of Grimm have many names," the professor, known as Peter Port, continued, "but I merely refer to them as prey. Ha-_ha_!"

On the right side of the front row of the classroom, Team RWBY sat, with Blake and Yang trying to pay attention to the professor, Weiss taking notes and Ruby falling sleeping, although Professor Port's laugh woke her up.

On the other side of the front row, Team SLFR sat, Storm and Forrest listening intently, Lav sleeping (and actually managing to stay asleep despite the professor's laugh) and Robin leaning back in his seat, clearly thinking about other things.

The class remains silent after Professor Port's failure of a joke.

"Uh..." Professor Port attempts to think of something to salvage his speech, "and you shall too upon graduating from this prestigious academy! Now as I was saying, Vale, as well as the other three kingdoms, are safe havens in an otherwise treacherous world! Our planet is absolutely _teeming_ with creatures that would love nothing more than to tear you to pieces! And that's where _we_ come in. Huntsmen! Huntresses!"

The professor then unexpectedly winked at Yang, clicking his tongue. As she groaned in discomfort, Forrest looked on with disapproval.

_'Is that even allowed?'_ he wondered.

"Individuals who have sworn to protect those who cannot protect themselves!" Professor Port continued. "From what you ask? Why, the very _world_!"

"Eeyup!" a boy at the back of class cheered. Upon getting the attention of the whole class, he sat back down.

"That is what you are training to become. But first, a story. A tale of a young, _handsome_ man."

_'Let me guess, you?'_ Forrest thought.

"Me!" the professor said, as if answering Forrest.

_'Whoever would've seen that coming?'_ he thought sarcastically.

"When I was a boy..." Port began telling his story, his words eventually devolving into 'blah blah'.

Forrest looked over at Ruby, who was drawing something. She then held up her paper to her team, causing Blake and Yang to laugh and Weiss to have an annoyed look on her face. She then showed it to Forrest, who saw a picture of the teacher with stink lines coming off of him, titled 'Professor Poop'. Forrest shook his head disapprovingly... even if he did find it a little funny. Ruby, Yang and Blake continued to laugh before the teacher in question cleared his throat, regaining their attention.

"In the end, the Beowolf was no match for my _sheer_ tenacity," Professor Port continued, "and I returned to my village, with the beast in captivity and my head held high, celebrated as a hero!"

He bowed before continuing his speech.

"The moral of the story? A true Huntsman must be honourable! A true Huntsman must be dependable! A true Huntsman must be strategic, well-educated and wise! So who among you believes themselves to be the embodiment of these traits?"

Immediately, Weiss raised her hand without even a hint of hesitation.

"I do, sir!" she exclaimed.

Forrest sensed a large amount of irritation from her.

_'What's gotten her so worked up?'_ he wondered.

"Well then, let's find out!" Port challenged.

He gestured to the cage beside him, where red eyes peered through the darkness inside the containment.

"Step forward and face your opponent!"

* * *

After changing into her combat attire, Weiss returned to the classroom with her weapon. She readied herself, facing the cage holding the growling creature. She heard her teammates' voices from the front row of the classroom.

"Gooo, Weiss!" Yang cheered, raising her fist.

"Fight well!" Blake encouraged, holding a small flag with 'RWBY' written on it.

"Yeah, represent Teeeeeam RWBY!" Ruby shouted.

Weiss lowered her weapon and glared at her leader.

"Ruby, I'm trying to focus!" Weiss snapped, causing Ruby's face to take on a sheepish expression.

"Alllllright! Let the match... begin!" Port announced. He brought his axe up and swung down on the lock on the cage, breaking it and dropping the cage door. The Grimm inside walks out, revealing itself to be a Boarbatusk. It immediately charges at her, but she manages to deflect the attack with her rapier. The two stand off, both readying for the other's next move.

"Haha! Wasn't expecting _that,_ were you?" Port commentated.

"Hang in there, Weiss!" Ruby attempted to reassure her teammate.

Weiss began charging towards the oncoming Boarbatusk, thrusting the blade of Myrtenaster straight at its skull. The weapon became trapped in the monster's tusks and Weiss tossed around as she hung on to the hilt, struggling to get her rapier back.

"Bold new approach, I like it!" Port complimented.

"Come on, Weiss, show it who's boss!" Ruby ordered.

Weiss glared at Ruby before the Boarbatusk turned its head, ripping the weapon from her grip. The creature then knocked Weiss back with its tusks.

"Oh ho! Now what will you do without your weapon?" Port taunted.

As the Boarbatusk began charging again, Weiss dodged out of the way, causing it to crash into a desk. Weiss charged forward and slid, grabbing her weapon before standing back up.

"Weiss! Go for its belly!" Ruby suggested. "There's no armour underneath-"

"STOP TELLING ME WHAT TO DO!" Weiss shrieked.

As Ruby was visibly hurt by Weiss' demand, Forrest glared at the heiress. If looks could kill...

"Forrest, are you alright?" a voice asked.

Forrest looked to the side, seeing Storm, concern visible on his face. Forrest shook his head, looking back towards Weiss, then toward Ruby. Storm seemed to understand the message Forrest was trying to convey to him. As Storm was about to respond though, the two saw the Boarbatusk rolling towards Weiss. She then created a light-blue Glyph in front of her, blocking the attack and making the monster dizzy. She jumped onto the second Glyph she created behind her, turning it black. Turning it light-blue again, she shot towards the Boarbatusk, stabbing it in the stomach. It squealed before finally falling limp as she panted in exhaustion. As Weiss stood up, the Boarbatusk disintegrated into nothing.

"Bravo! Bra-vo!" Professor Port congratulated. "It appears we are indeed in the presence of a true Huntress-in-training! I'm afraid that's all the time we have for today. Be sure to cover the assigned readings and... stay vigilant! Class dismissed!"

Weiss gave Ruby one final glare before walking out of the classroom. Blake, Yang and Team SLFR shared a glance of concern with each other.

"I wonder what her problem is..." Robin commented.

As the rest of the class began making their ways out of room, Ruby ran ahead to catch up with her partner. Forrest began making his way out as well, followed by Storm. Meanwhile, Blake, Yang, Lav and Robin exited and began walking in another direction.

As Forrest and Storm walked through the halls, looking for Ruby and Weiss, they heard the heiress' voice.

"Not a team led by _you_."

Storm and Forrest stood behind the corner, listening to Weiss scold Ruby.

"I've studied, and trained, and quite frankly, I deserve better! Ozpin made a mistake."

The two watched as Weiss stormed off. As Ruby turned around, she saw her brother walking in her direction, a death stare on his face. She immediately knew what he was planning.

"No, Forrest! Don't worry about it! I'm fine!" She attempted to reassure him.

Her teary eyes weren't fooling him.

"But I need to talk to her," he replied, a wave of intense, but suppressed anger in his voice. "She's being a complete and total-"

"I said, it's fine!" Ruby cut him off. "She's just... I don't know..."

"I'll talk to her."

The two turned and saw Storm walking past them, a reassuring smile on his face.

"She and I are close friends. I'm sure she'll listen to me."

As he made his way outside, Forrest turned to Ruby. She looked at him, tears still in her eyes. He held out his arms and gently pulled her towards him, embracing his sibling. After a moment, Ruby and Forrest pulled away, the former speaking her mind to the latter.

"Do you think she was right? Did Ozpin make a mistake?"

"Well, that remains to be seen," Forrest answered.

"I couldn't have said it better myself," a voice agreed.

The pair turned to see a certain headmaster standing nearby, with his trademark cane and coffee mug...

* * *

As Weiss stood outside, staring off into the distance, she heard footsteps behind her, getting closer.

"Look, whoever it is, I'm not interest-"

She cut herself off as she turned and saw her childhood friend.

"Oh, S- Storm..." she stuttered. "Hey."

"Hello," Storm returned. "Would you be willing to talk?"

"Always with you," Weiss answered, smiling.

The two sat down on the bench, continuing to stare into the afternoon sun.

"You seemed to be upset earlier. Is there a reason why?" the Faunus asked.

"Yes, there is," the heiress answered. "It's just... I feel like I deserve to be the leader of the team more than Ruby does. Not only that, but now that she _is_ the leader, she hasn't taken her duties seriously! She hasn't done anything that could be _remotely_ considered 'good leadership'!"

"I see," Storm said, thinking of his next words. After a moment, he spoke. "Well, you haven't really given her a chance."

"Huh?" Weiss uttered, a look of surprise on her face.

"You haven't really given her a chance to prove herself," Storm explained. "It's only the first day, meaning she hasn't had the chance to do anything exceptional."

"But she's a _child_," Weiss retorted.

"Well, _we_ are children also," Storm replied. "But besides that, she got accepted into Beacon and she passed the initiation. That proves that she's a capable fighter."

Weiss realised that she couldn't argue against that.

"Also, it's only been one day. You should give her more time to prove herself. And while you wait, you should continue training. Develop new skills and strengthen your old ones. And, when the time is right, you'll find out if you or Ruby are more deserving of leadership."

After a moment of letting Storm's words sink in, Weiss finally replied.

"I guess you're right," she agreed. "I'll give her a chance."

"Good," Storm said. "Just remember, this won't be easy for her either. The leadership responsibility _did _just drop on her out of the sky yesterday."

Weiss nodded and smiled. Satisfied, Storm stood up and walked away, leaving Weiss with her thoughts.

* * *

Storm made his way back to his dorm and entered, finding Lav laying on his bed already, eyes half-closed, and Robin studying.

"I'm back," he greeted as he closed the door.

"Hey," Robin replied, only half paying attention.

"Heya," Lav responded, yawning. "So, how'd things go?"

"Well, I figured things out with Weiss," Storm answered, "so hopefully she'll give Ruby a chance now."

"Good to hear," Lav sighed, closing his eyes.

After a few minutes, of conversation, Storm entered the bathroom. He showered and dressed into his pyjamas. As he exited, he saw Forrest enter the dorm. Robin, who had just finished studying, saw him too.

"Hey, welcome back," he greeted.

"Hello Forrest," Storm said. "Did you manage to cheer Ruby up?"

"Yeah, I did, thanks to a little help from Professor Ozpin," Forrest admitted. "How did your talk with Weiss go?"

"It went quite well. If she listened to me, which I believe she did, she'll give Ruby a chance now."

"Thanks," Forrest said with a smile.

He then showered as well before starting on his homework. After he finished, he helped Storm with his, as he was having trouble.

* * *

"Well, I wish you all a good night's sleep," Storm said later that night as he laid down in his bed.

"Same to you," Lav returned. "G'night, guys."

"Goodnight," Forrest said with a yawn.

"Goodnight," Robin echoed.

The lights went out and within a few minutes, they all drifted off.

* * *

**Well, that's Chapter 6 done-zo! Sorry for the abrupt ending, I wanted to add something more after the team did their homework, but I couldn't think of anything. But anyway, I hope you enjoyed the chapter!**

**And as always, have a great day!**


End file.
